1 c. red lentils
2 T. vegetable oil
2 t. cumin seeds
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 T. fresh ginger, finely chopped
2 or 3 fresh green Thai, cayenne or serrano chiles, to taste, stemmed, finely chopped
16 oz. russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2 in. dice, submerged in a bowl of cold water to prevent browning
2 t. Kosher salt
2 t. ground cumin
1 t. ground coriander
1 t. turmeric
1 T. fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
Juice of 1 medium lime

1. Place lentils in a medium saucepan. Fill pan halfway with water and rinse lentils by rubbing them between your fingertips. Water will become cloudy. Drain this water. Repeat three or four times, until water is relatively clear, and drain
2. Add two cups water and bring to a boil, uncovered, over medium heat
3. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover pot and simmer, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender, 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat
4. While lentils are cooking, heat oil in a large fry pan over medium heat
5. Add cumin seeds to the fry pan and cook until they sizzle, turn reddish brown and are fragrant, about 10-15 seconds.
6. Add onion, ginger and chiles to the fry pan, and stirfry until onion is caramel brown, about 8-10 minutes
7. Drain potatoes and add them to skillet
8. Into the potato mixture, stir salt, ground cumin, coriander, turmeric and cilantro. Stirfry to cook spices until they turn fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
9. Add 1/2 cup water, scraping bottom of skillet to deglaze, releasing any collected bits of onion and spice
10. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender but do not break apart, about 8-10 minutes. Some potatoes will take longer than this
11. Stir the lentil mixture until the lentils fall apart
12. Pour the lentils over the potatoes and stir allowing the lentils to absorb some of the spices
13. Stir in lime juice before serving

Serves 6